George Gordon McCrae
George Gordon McCrae (29 May 1833 - 15 August 1927) was an Australian poet. Life Youth McCrae was born in Leith, Scotland; his father was Andrew Murison McCrae, a writer; his mother was Georgiana McCrae, a painter and diarist. George attended a preparatory school in London, and later received lessons from his mother. Georgiana and her four sons emigrated to Melbourne in 1841, following her husband who had emigrated in 1839. Career After a few years as a surveyor, George McCrae joined the Victorian Government service, eventually becoming Deputy Registrar-General, and also a prominent figure in literary circles. Most of his leisure time was spent in writing. His first published work was Two Old Men's Tales of Love and War (London, 1865). His son Hugh McCrae, also a poet, produced a volume of memoirs (My Father and My Father's Friends) about George and his association with such literary figures as Henry Kendall, Adam Lindsay Gordon, Richard Henry Horne and Marcus Clarke. George McCrae wrote novels, stories, poetry, and travel sketches, and also illustrated books. Late life After his retirement, he wrote unpublished manuscripts under the title, Reminiscences: Experiences not Exploits, which contain detailed descriptions of events from his youth and present a record of the early European part of Melbourne countryside. McCrae died at Hawthorn in Melbourne, survived by four of his six children, including Dorothy Frances Perry, also an author. Writing The Australian Poetry Library says of his work: "McCrae's poetry is representative of the Victorian period and has been regarded as overly ornate and self-consciously literary by modern readers. Yet he remains important as one of the first Australian poets to attempt to incorporate Aboriginal myths and history into his verse."George Gordon McCrae (1833–1927), Australian Poetry Library, Web, Mar. 15, 2012. Publications Poetry *''Two Old Men's Tales of Love and War''. London: privately published, 1865. *''The Story of Balladeadro''. Melbourne: H.T. Dwight, 1867. *''Mamba ("The Bright Eyed"): An Aboriginal reminiscence. Melbourne: H.T. Dwight, 1867. *''Man in the Iron Mask: A poetical romance in four books. Melbourne: George Robertson, 1873. *''The Fleet and the Convoy, and other verses. Melbourne: Lothian, 1915. Novel *''John Rouse: A Queen Anne story in an Australian setting. Melborne: Specialty Press, 1918. Non-fiction *''Arthur's Seat: The original McCrae homestead''. McCrae, Vic: published, 1964? * Recollections of Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay in the Early Forties Adelaide: Sullivans Cove, 1987. Edited *''Letters to Georgiana, from her four sons''. Arthur's Seat, Vic: privately published, 1962. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:George Gordon McCrae, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 25, 2013. See also * List of Australian poets References *Norman Cowper, 'McCrae, George Gordon (1833 - 1927)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, MUP, 1974, pp 136-137. * *R.G. Howarth, Literary Particles (Sydney, 1946) *H.E. Chaplin, A McCrae Miscellany (Sydney, 1967) *W. Dixson, 'Notes on Australian artists', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 9 (1923) *''Spinner'', July 1925 *''The Argus (Melbourne), 11 July 1890, 16 August 1927'' *family papers (privately held). Extracts of McCrae's papers were reprinted, with the permission of son Hugh, in Southerly magazine in 1946. Notes External links ;Poems *"Morning at Sea in the Tropics" *"Forby Sutherland" in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-1895 * George Gordon McCrae at PoemHunter (6 poems) *George Gordon McCrae at Poetry Nook (6 poems) *George Gordon McCrae (1833–1927) in the Australian Poetry Library (18 poems) ;About *MacCrae, George Gordon (1833-1927) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography Category:1833 births Category:1927 deaths Category:Australian poets Category:Australian short story writers Category:Australian novelists Category:Poets from Melbourne Category:Australian people of Scottish descent Category:People from Leith Category:19th-century poets Category:20th-century poets Category:Poets Category:English-language poets